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Factors affecting hatching success of golden apple snail eggs: Effects of water immersion and cannibalism

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The golden apple snail (Pomacea maculata Perry) is an invasive species that lays its eggs out of water but is otherwise aquatic. To investigate this behavior and potential management techniques, we conducted experiments to examine the physical effects of immersion and underwater egg predation on hatching success. Predation on submerged eggs by P. maculata adults reduced hatching success by ∼99%. In predator-free conditions, hatching success was reduced 75% by immersion in water and was negatively correlated with time submerged. Our results suggest that both underwater egg predation and low immersion tolerance may be exploited to limit the spread of P. maculata.
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... Apple snails are voracious eaters (Boland et al., 2008;Wong et al., 2010), preying on animal tissue including eggs and juveniles of other snails, as well as on macrophytes or detritus (Wood et al., 2006;Kwong, Chan & Qiu, 2009;Karraker & Dudgeon, 2014;Saveanu, Manara & Martin, 2017;Carter, Johnson & Merino, 2018). Indeed, some apple snails, such as P. maculata (Horn et al., 2008) or A. platae (Tiecher et al., 2014), even consume egg masses of their own species. As a consequence of such cannibalism, experiments with egg masses of P. maculata have shown that egg masses kept under water were consumed almost entirely by conspecifics, and to an extent that hatching success was reduced to c. 1% (Horn et al., 2008). ...
... Indeed, some apple snails, such as P. maculata (Horn et al., 2008) or A. platae (Tiecher et al., 2014), even consume egg masses of their own species. As a consequence of such cannibalism, experiments with egg masses of P. maculata have shown that egg masses kept under water were consumed almost entirely by conspecifics, and to an extent that hatching success was reduced to c. 1% (Horn et al., 2008). The predation of egg masses by apple snails is clearly not accidental (Tiecher et al., 2014), supporting the hypothesis that predation of egg masses by ampullariid gastropods and other predators represents a significant evolutionary pressure favouring oviposition above the water line (Turner, 1998). ...
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... The effects of water stress on various Pomacea sp. have shown a reduction in hatching rates in submerged clutches [2,11,12]. The physiological stress provoked by submersion may be related to oxygen availability, solute losses, pH changes or osmotic pressure [2].Exposure to water stress minimally decreased hatching success of P. maculata clutches during this study. ...
... The application of electric shock with 0.35 A/m 2 or more can inactivate GAS and hence cease their reproduction process (Yagyu et al., 2005). The water level could also manipulate as prolonged water immersion period resulted in the reduction of GAS egg's hatching up to 75% (Horn et al., 2008). ...
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... The Golden Apple Snail Pomacea canaliculata (Lamark, 1822), native to South America, is an invasive freshwater gastropod (Low and Anderson 2017). The snails were introduced to Asia as a high-protein food and as an aquarium pet, but they were released into the wild after complete commercial failure (Horn et al. 2008). Golden Apple Snails quickly established populations in natural and artificial aquatic systems because of their high reproductive ability, fast growth rate, and ability to search for temporary shelters (Andre 1964), but also, importantly, because of their strong adaptability to temperature changes, drought, and water pollution , Mack et al. 2000, Carlsson 2006, Joshi 2007, Wada and Matsukura 2011, Martin et al. 2012. ...
... According to Henley et al. (2000), increased turbidity and sedimentation can reduce dissolved oxygen in the water column. This effect may contribute to hatching failure due to a reduction in oxygen availability for developing embryos, and thereby preventing proper embryonic development (Horn et al., 2008). Moreover, suspended particles may coat the surfaces of eggs, which reduces the flushing of metabolic wastes generated by the eggs (Bash et al., 2001). ...
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... Factors that regulate the egg hatchability have been exploited by researchers in order to control the spread of invasion at early life stage. Horn et al. (2008) found that an immersion of eggs in water has reduced the hatching success by more than 75%. Hatchability of eggs was affected upon exposure to chemicals such as extract of Barringtonia racemose (Musman et al., 2013) and apple wax (Der-Chung et al., 2005). ...
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